The Death of Drago Bludvist
by Dancing on Dragon Wings
Summary: When a shadow from the past steals what is closest to Hiccup's heart, he and Toothless must once again fight to protect their own.
1. Chapter 1

The Death of Drago Bludvist

_Drago felt himself flying through the air, falling. He'd done it, that scrawny little dragon rider had done it. As he hit the cold ocean he knew with most certainty, he was defeated. Drago's men assisted him out of the water and they left Berk, Hiccup hoped for good. But as Hiccup took on the role of chief, Drago watched from the deck of his retreating ship and promised revenge. That brat had ruined his Bewilderbeast, taken all his dragon's and humiliated him to the bone. He would pay, Drago chucked, yes, he would pay dearly._

Two Years Later

Hiccup, the chief of Berk, paced nervously back in forth in front of the door to his house. Toothless watched him exasperated. Finally having had enough, the animal stood, walked over and sat directly in front of Hiccup's path making him halt in his ritualistic walk.

"What?" Hiccup asked pointedly. Toothless raised a single eyebrow. Hiccup sighed and sat down on his front steps. Toothless nodded, satisfied, before curling up in a ball and closing his eyes, taking a cat nap in the warm autumn sun.

"Toothless is right, ya know." Gobber quipped, putting his oar in before sitting down next to the troubled youth. "At the rate you were going I was afraid you were about to make a hole the size of a whispering death's tunnel. Besides, it's not doing to make things go any faster."

"Hey, I'm sitting! So, are you two, are you two satisfied? Toothless? Gobber?" Hiccup asked, waving his hands around, before starting to stand again. Toothless growled and Gobber reached out a hand to yank him back down to the steps. Hiccup gave Gobber a look of annoyance.

"Quite, yes, thank you. That is, if you'd just stay still."

"Fine, you, you two win." Hiccup grinned, then brushed his fingers anxiously through his ginger hair.

"Ahh, don't worry so much. Astrid's fine." Gobber paused, his mind traveling elsewhere. He was silent for a moment, then started in quietly. "Ya know, Hiccup, I remember the day you were born." Hiccup looked at him waiting. "Your father felt much the same as you do now. Only twice as impatient. I knew old Val would pull through just fine, but he didn't believe me. He was about to bust down the door when you came. I remember the look in his eyes when he first saw you. Ahh," Gobber gave a little laugh and shook his head, before returning his gaze. "He was so proud, Hiccup, so proud." They sat there together in silence. One man remembering, the other only able to imagine. Gobber chuckled.

"If your Dad was still alive, he'd be sitting here waiting with us, probably more nervous than you. The boar-headed, stubborn Viking that he was."

Hiccup laughed.

"Yep, that'd be Dad."

"Mmm, although, if he was here there is one thing I'm quite certain he'd want you to know." Gobber looked at him meaningfully. "You're going to be a great Dad and I know he'd be proud, Hiccup."

Hiccup flinched. Here lately that's all he'd been able to think about. Astrid was about to string him up by the nearest tree for all his worrying. "You're going to be a fantastic Dad!" She'd said enthusiastically. But he wasn't so positive. Sure, he was good at dragon training and being a chief, well actually, that was still a work in progress, but a father? He shook his head. He really didn't know how to act, how to be a Dad. When he was little, his Dad had pretty much either left him to himself or been extremely severe, most of the time disappointed at Hiccup's different ways of doing things. Granted, that had all changed once Toothless had come into the picture, but he'd almost been grown at that point, not really a little boy any more. He just wished Stoick was here now. Hiccup looked out to the statue of his Dad, now finished, and tried to put his fears aside.

Thanks, Gobber, thanks for being here." He said finally, grateful to have his Dad's best friend beside him.

"Sure thing. Now let's get back to pacing, they're taking an awful long time in there."

Just then Valka burst through the door, hair flying, face flushed and beaming with happiness.

"Hiccup," She smiled. "Come meet your son."

She watched with great excitement as Hiccup swallowed hard and stood up, walking reverenced to the door.

As he went into the dimly lit room, his eyes landed on Astrid sitting up in bed cradling a tiny form in her arms. She looked up at him exhausted, but radiant. Hiccup sat down on the side of the bed, completely hypnotized by the scene before him.

"Uh," He sniffed. "Wha, what's his name?" Hiccup asked barely able to breath.

"Well, I thought about Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the fourth, but…" She stopped and took her eyes of the babe, looking at Hiccup. "I was thinking Stoick might be nice. What do you think? I mean we could always name him something like Ratface or Dragon's Breath." She teased.

"I, I think Stoick would be perfect." He announced wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. She smiled at him and lifted up the small bundle.

"Would you like to hold him?" Hiccup looked at her terrified. She laughed. "You won't break him. Besides, you've held dragon eggs and hatchlings before. How is this any different?"

"They weren't mine." Astrid shook her head and grinned as he took little Stoick from her. "He's so small." Hiccup said worried.

"He'll be fine." Valka assured him, coming over and looking at the three proudly. Toothless leaped in, coming up and sniffing the new addition of the family.

"Whoa, Bud! Gentle!" Toothless didn't hear him though, his eyes completely focused on the sleeping child in Hiccup's arms. Hiccup looked at his best friend and smiled at the curiosity and adoration he saw in Toothless's big green eyes. "Here, be careful though and, no, no licking." Hiccup said putting little Stoick up nearer the dragon. Toothless took a few more small sniffs then came closer, staring intently before cocking his head and looking from the baby to Hiccup. "It's okay, Toothless." Hiccup reassured him. Toothless looked at the baby once more before slowly and gently resting the very end of his snout on the child's forehead. Then he rose and looked a moment longer before turning and laying down by the fireplace with Stormfly, who was extremely uninterested in the day's events.

"Well, that's new." Astrid commented.

"Hmm, no kidding. What was that all about, Mom?" She looked from Toothless to the baby, deep in concentration.

"I think it may be Toothless's way of adding the child to the nest, his nest."

Astrid agreed. "It makes perfect sense! His way of bonding and accepting Stoick as one of his own."

Hiccup nodded, got up and crouched down next to Toothless patting him on the head.

"You're something else. Aren't ya, Bud? Always full of surprises." Toothless looked at Hiccup, eyes full of devotion, before nodding and closing his eyes, falling asleep.

All of a sudden, Gobber and the gang stumbled in, all rushing to the bed. Hiccup jumped up and held out his hands stopping them.

"Can I see him, Can I see him? Can I, can I, can I?" Ruffnut begged excitedly.

"You can SEE him, but I'm reserving full rights to holding him until he's a little older." Astrid replied. Hiccup shot her a look. "Don't worry, the rules don't apply to you, Babe." She amended. He grinned and shook his head.

"What? You're not going to share?" Ruffnut whined.

"Uh, no."

She poked out her lip pouting.

"Fine lad, Hiccup!" Gobber exclaimed, slapping Hiccup soundly on the back making him stumble and cough.

"Thanks, Gobber." Hiccup said trying to catch his breath.

"Eww! It's SO ugly! Tuffnut criticized. Snotlout cuffed him one in the face saying, "I'm sure he's the most beaut…" He took one look at the baby before staring blankly. "Oh well, uh, he's not the best looking baby, but…" Astrid shot him a look that could freeze the sun. "Actually, yeah. He's beautiful, Astrid." He recovered, clearing his throat.

"Mmm hmm." She continued giving him the evil eye until he backed off. Then she smiled smugly to herself. "Don't listen to a word he says, Sweetheart. Your Uncle Snotlout doesn't know a thing about babies." Astrid cooed to the now awake baby in her arms. Hiccup grinned at her and her tactics, but she only slightly smiled back before yawning and settling deep down under her furs. Valka and Hiccup shared a look, then after many goodbyes and oohing and aahing, chased the rest of the crew off. As Hiccup sat back down on the edge of the bed, Astrid gave him a small punch in the arm.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"That was for not chasing them off sooner." She put her hand on his cheek, having him lean down for a kiss.

"And what was that for?"

"Just because."

"Hmm." Hiccup leaned down to give her one last kiss before letting her doze. "Sweet dreams, M'lady." She gazed up at him sleepily, letting her eyes drop into slumber. "And goodnight, little man." Hiccup whispered, kissing the top of his sleeping child's head. He took one more look at the perfect picture before running outside the village, Toothless right behind him, and flying away. He and Toothless spinning, diving, laughing, shouting and roaring without a care in the world.

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Drago Bludvist was ready for revenge, revenge and a certain alpha Nightfury. He had waited much too long for this. Tonight he would start his evil plan to success. As his battalion of men crept closer to Berk on their battleships, he lifted his Deadly Nadder to the sky. It was the perfect plan. Distract Hiccup with his men and armada, while he snatched away the bait that would lead to the chief of Berk's undoing. It was time.


	2. Chapter 2

Three days later, Hiccup woke to the sound of the village horn blowing loudly. It took him a moment to register what it meant. The horn hadn't been used for dragon attacks in years and most tribes weren't dumb enough to mess with the famed dragon riders of Berk. Yet, they still kept watch and the horn WAS being blown.

They were under attack

Hiccup jumped out of bed, quickly putting on his armor. Astrid rolled over and yawned.

"What's going on?" She asked, half asleep.

"I don't know." Stoick started crying and Astrid stiffly got out of bed, clearly sore. Standing and rocking him quietly, she tried to comfort her little one. The horn was still blowing and Hiccup could hear the village starting to stir. Stormfly came over and nudged Astrid waiting to be saddled up. Hiccup looked at her and saw conflict brewing in her deep blue eyes. She glanced over at her own armor before looking back at Stoick, taking a deep breath and sighing.

"Hey Hiccup?" Astrid called as he fastened Toothless's saddle. He tried to appear uninterested while holding his breath.

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm going to sit this one out." He exhaled in relief, smiling to himself.

"Mmm hmm, okay" He replied casually, still pretending to be preoccupied.

"I, I just think it would be a good idea and all. You know, he's only a few days old and…What?"

"Nothing, I'm just glad you're okay with all this."

"You mean not being out there in the midst of glorious battle with you and…"

"Yeah, that." He interrupted, kissing her on the cheek lightly. She shrugged and smiled down at Stoick.

"He's worth it."

Gobber and Valka burst in just as Hiccup straightened, finished from getting Toothless ready.

"It's Drago. He's back." Gobber explained, breathing hard. Hiccup looked over at his mom whose face was white with rage. But that wasn't the only emotion he saw on her pained face. Fear, as plain as day, was clearly etched in her eyes.

"Mom, stay with Astrid." He placed a hand on her shoulder trying to reassure her.

"No, I need to fight him, he's evil, he must…" She stopped, shaking.

"Mom." Hiccup whispered.

"He needs to be finished."

"I know. But, Mom, you don't need to do this. I can take care of Drago. Let me do this for you. Please." He glanced over at Astrid, who was busy with the baby. Valka followed his gaze and began to understand. "Will you stay with her?" She looked down and nodded.

"Gobber, round everyone up. Mom, I'll send someone to check on you later. With any luck, we'll chase them off before they land. If not, take the dragons and hide in the caves." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, then went to his wife and son. Astrid looked at him mischievously.

"You know it kills me not to be up there fighting with you." He grinned, but she turned serious. "Hey, remember who you're dealing with, Hiccup. Drago is insane, crazy and well, out of his mind to mess with us again." She smiled. "You and me both know he will give us no mercy if we lose. So, please don't do anything stupid."

"How about crazy?" He teased.

"Hmff, not without me you don't." She looked up at him worried.

"Astrid, I'll be fine. Besides, I've got Toothless."

"I know."

"Hiccup, you need to go." Valka scolded.

"Coming." He kissed Astrid quickly and jumped on Toothless, who was waiting impatiently.

"You got this!" Astrid called. Hiccup smiled at her once more before bounding out the door.

Astrid sat down on the bed in a foul mood.

"Valka? I can't stand this. I have GOT to know what is going on."

"Already ahead of you. Cloudjumper, let's go."

Shortly after going outside she stopped a young teen running by.

"Young man, I need you to find out what all's going on and report back to me as quickly as possible. Can you do that?"

"Yes, mam!" He shouted enthusiastically, wanting to watch the fight.

"Good. Where has everyone gone?" She asked, just noticing that the village was practically empty.

"When folks heard that Drago was back, they all ran off to the caves."

"Mmm." He stood there staring at her, waiting for permission to leave. Valka inwardly smiled, noting his impatience, wondering if this was what Hiccup was like when he was younger. She guessed she'd never know. Just another small piece of the price she'd paid.

"Now off with you!" She finally said, releasing the boy. He grinned and ran off. She smiled sadly and climbed back on Cloudjumper.

Valka returned to the house to find Astrid slowly putting on her armor.

She gave her a questioning look.

"I need to be ready." Astrid insisted. Valka nodded and began quickly packing supplies in case they needed to flee. Together they worked in silence. Both women itching for news, both used to being in the thick of things, both wishing they could help, but both knowing they had something much more important to protect. Now all they had to do was wait.

Drago smiled as he swooped down on the quiet village, satisfied that most were busy fighting his armada or had fled in panic. How perfect. Swinging down off his dragon, he boldly stormed up the steps to Hiccup's house, throwing open the door. He chucked, delighted at the sight of Valka and that blonde spitfire looking in sheer terror at the sight of him. Laughing inwardly, Drago realized he was enjoying this far too much. That's when he noticed a babe in the cradle board on Valka's back. His plan was only getting better and better. Oh, Hiccup couldn't resist his offer now. Out of nowhere, a Nadder blasted a stream of fire at him, but Drago quickly just pulled his cape around his body. _Pathetic. _He thought with a smile in his eyes.

"Save it Stormfly." Astrid commanded.

"What do you want Drago?" Valka asked angrily.

He snapped his fingers and ten of his strongest men filed in, armed to the teeth. Two of the men stepped forward and shot darts of sedatives at Cloudjumper and Stormfly, making them collapse on the floor. Valka and Astrid looked in horror as their backup was downed.

"Just the three of you." Drago said answering Valka. "It isn't much to ask, really. Especially, after what your son inflicted upon me and my men. Not to mention, stealing all my dragons, ruining my Bewilderbeast and…"

"You killed my husband!" She yelled. "What my son did was to protect his people and the dragons from true monsters like you!" The baby started crying and Valka lowered her mask and brought up her staff in battle position.

"You have no chance of winning. We will win and we will take you with us alive." Drago concluded.

Astrid threw away her shield while lifting her axe.

"Good luck." She replied savagely, reaching down and grabbing a dagger from her boot, throwing it hard. Drago sidestepped and it nicked him in the ear.

"Get them!" He ordered. Before Astrid had time to make two swings with her axe, the weapon was knocked from her hand and she was being tied up.

She glared hard at Drago. Most people would have flinched at her stare, but he didn't even blink.

"You will pay for this." She threatened as one of the men pushed her forward. He ignored her and that was the end of it. One...did...not...ignore...her, especially not her enemies. Astrid swung around and kicked her captor hard in the shin before head-butting him, knocking him senseless. As the next Viking came forward to face her, she was about to repeat the process when the back of her head exploded in pain. Drago smirked as Astrid fell unconscious to the ground.

"Weakling." He said, satisfied to see her brought down. Valka watched painfully as one of the men hauled Astrid over his saddle, blood dripping from her crown.

"We leave now." Drago growled.

As they took off, Valka could see the battle being fought in the distance, the dragon's fire lighting the night sky. A shot of blue light burst through the darkness and Valka's heart squeezed in sympathy, knowing Hiccup would try to find them. But she was afraid the cost to get them back might be too great. A price he might be unable to pay.

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Tuffnut climbed down off his side of the Zippleback still pouting that he and Ruffnut had been sent back to check on the village and Astrid.

"Dumb, Hiccup. " Ruffnut complained. "Nobody's even here."

"Yeah, this place is deserted."

"This is stupid."

"Not as stupid as you."

"Hey!" Ruffnut pounced on Tuffnut grabbing one of his braids and yanking hard.

Meanwhile, Barf and Belch, caught the scent of unfamiliar dragons and wandered off to investigate.

"Hey, where's my dragon going?" Tuffnut paused after slamming Ruffnut in the face with his shield.

"Who cares? And don't you mean MY dragon, Genius?"

Tuffnut rolled his eyes and followed the two headed monster who was slinking up the steps to Hiccup's home. When their pet let out a low growl Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other and shrugged. Ruffnut went over and tried to distract them, calming the two headed pair down while Tuffnut went inside.

"Uh…" He stammered with his mouth wide open.

"What is it?" Ruffnut called from outside.

"Uhhh…"

"Tuffnut, stop acting like the idiot you are and spit it out!" She demanded, stomping in.

"Oh."

"Yeah." They both stood staring at the two limp dragons on the floor.

"Uhhh…" Ruffnut unintentionally mimicked her brother's initial reaction.

"Hey, that's what I said!" Tuff pouted.

"Maybe they're asleep." The twins looked evilly at each other and ran for the nearest pots and pans. Before you could wag a finger at them, they were banging the pots and dancing around the beasts trying to wake them up.

"This isn't working!" Tuffnut yelled above the noise. Ruffnut put her pot down.

"Maybe we should get Hiccup."

"Hiccup, why would we want to do that?"

"He has two passed out dragons in his house, Stupid. Don't you think that's bad?"

"I don't know, I'm stupid, remember?"

"Errrr. Let's just go already!" Ruffnut glanced at him exasperated and hopped up on her side of their dragon.

Halfway to the battlefield in the sky, Ruffnut offhandedly asked Tuffnut, "Hey, I wonder where Astrid is. Weren't we supposed to check on her or something dumb like that?"

"Ehh, Astrid can take care of herself."

Ruffnut thought about this for a minute. Tuffnut was right, Astrid could take care of herself. It's not like she was alone or anything. After all, she had the dragons. _Wait… _Ruffnut pulled up suddenly, making Tuff almost fall off.

"What are you doing, Stupid!" He yelled.

"The dragons. Astrid wasn't with the dragons."

"Duh, she wasn't even in the house."

"But, she wouldn't leave them."

"You're starting to think too much, it's making my head hurt."

"I still think it's weird."

"Stop with the whole thinking thing!"

"Fine, but it's weird."

"Not any weirder than you right now."

"Shut up."

"No. You gonna make me?" She slugged him in the jaw making him smile.

"Ahh, now that's better!" Ruffnut rolled her eyes at him and completely forgot everything they had just discussed as they continued bickering back and forth.

Hiccup smiled, knowing the battle was pretty much won. He was surprised though, that while the ships sailed under the Bloodvist crest, their leader was not present. He suspected foul play, which was why he'd sent the twins back to check on things. He just hoped that Drago didn't have some kind of grandiose finale planned. Toothless let out a plasma blast at one of the ships, causing it to set fire. Hiccup watched in sympathy as the men on board leaped over the side, scrambling to find wreckage to float on. He hated this. Hated war and fighting. Most of the local tribes tried to keep the peace, but of course there just HAD to be that one bad apple of the bunch. He knew what he was doing was good. It was for the protection of his people, his family and friends. That knowledge helped him get through it and block out the pain he felt inside for having to fight and kill. As hard as it was, he had to face the fact that some people were just plain evil. Hiccup nudged Toothless, having him fly high and then hover. From here he could view the battlefield and see what needed to be done. The ships were starting to thin out, a few more seconds and they'd be on the run. The village had received minimal damage, a few scorched roofs from catapult fire, but nothing serious. Now to find Drago. This battle plan had been a disaster waiting to happen and Drago wasn't that sloppy. It had to be a set up.

"Hey!" Tuffnut interrupted his thoughts, flying a wingspan away. "Hey!" He called again. "You've got some dragons in your house." Hiccup raised both his eyebrows, trying not to laugh.

"Uh, yeah. It's kind of a normal thing around here, if you haven't noticed."

"Well, it's not normal for them to be like sleeping rocks" Ruffnut returned.  
>"What?" Hiccup exclaimed, turning serious.<p>

"Yeah, like sleeping rocks. Good one, Sis!" Tuffnut helped.

"Ugh, shut up." Ruffnut grumbled.

"Guys, I know this is hard for you, but could you be a little more specific?"

"Specific? Us? Ha!" Tuffnut said laughing.

"I'm serious you two, come on!" He took a deep breath trying to be patient.

"They were just on the floor not moving. And trust me, if they were going to move they would have." Ruffnut explained.

"Oh yeah, you should have seen us, Hiccup. It was so much fun! We got out some pots and…"

"Where was Astrid?"

"Oh, she wasn't there. But anyways…"

"She wasn't there?"

"Nope, but like I was saying…"

"Later, Tuffnut! Toothless, go!" Hiccup yelled as he raced back to Berk, anger flowing through his veins. _And there's Drago's grand finale_, he thought setting his jaw.

Eret saw Hiccup take off at breakneck speed toward the village with the twins. He whistled at Gobber, Fishlegs and Snotlout, motioning for them to look.

"Where are they going?" Snotlout yelled over.

"I don't know, but let's follow. We've done our job." He watched as the armada retreated back into the open sea, hopefully leaving for good.

When the riders all reached Berk, some of the villagers were slowly starting to go home, resettle and fix the damage done. But others were forming a large crowd, gathering in front of Hiccup's house, demanding answers.

"Move aside, please." Eret asked, without getting much of a response. Snotlout rolled his eyes and yelled loudly,

"Out of my way! NOW!" The crowd stayed put and Eret couldn't help but laugh. Snotlout turned red and started pushing his way through. The people finally started moving.

"Please, return to you homes." Eret directed from the top of the stairs. "Hiccup, will be out to answer your questions and concerns shortly." With that, he and the others went inside as the crowd grew quiet and stood waiting.

"They're gone." Was all Hiccup could say, his voice hoarse. Fishlegs got down off of Meatlug and rushed over to the paralyzed dragons, his lip quivering with anger and sorrow. He quickly pulled out one of the poison darts and placed it expertly to his nose taking a slow sniff.

"Hey, that's one of the ones I used to make!" Eret exclaimed.

"Mmm." Fishlegs agreed. "Yes, I do believe so. But a much stronger version."

"What do you guys make those things out of anyways? Snotlout asked. "They're amazing! To bring down a full sized dragon, I mean, wow!"

Eret shook his head indicating that now was not the time. He walked over to Hiccup and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Come, let's find them." He voiced. Hiccup looked at him, his face a ghastly gray, and nodded.

"They can't be too far ahead." Eret reasoned.

"No." Hiccup returned, seeming to come out of his shock, and starting to sound optimistic. He hurried to grab some maps and supplies, as well as, Eret noticed, a small woolen baby blanket.

Hiccup stood resolutely, facing the group, determination in his eyes. "Let's go."

"Gobber, Twins, follow the armada to the South. Fishlegs, to the East. Eret, to the West and I'll go North. Snotlout, stay here."

"What!" He whined. Hiccup ignored him and continued.

"Each group take a Terrible Terror with you. If anyone finds anything, send back a message to Snotlout. Snotlout, when you get a message I need you to go round everyone up so we can regroup and be ready to fight. Does everyone have that?" The Twins looked at him blankly. He looked at Gobber for help, who cast him a reassuring grin.

"Don't worry, Hiccup. I've got these two mutton heads covered."

"Hey, just because Hiccup can't speak English doesn't make us stupid." Tuffnut protested.

"Wait, he called us stupid?" Ruff asked.

"No, he called us mutton heads, Stupid."

"Shut up."

""Hey, you two!" Eret cut in. "Focus."

Ruffnut froze and slowly turned to him, eyelashes fluttering and sighing in admiration.

"Anything for you." She purred, placing her hand on his arm.

"Gag!" Tuffnut pretended to barf. Eret hurriedly shook off his one person fan club and went to climb up on Skullcrusher.

"Can we go now, please…?" He pleaded to Hiccup as he watched, disgusted, as Ruffnut blew him kisses. The rest of the riders mounted up and waited. Hiccup closed his eyes sitting for a moment, feeling the first light of the sun warm his face. He nodded to Toothless, who let out a loud roar. And they were off.


	3. Chapter 3

Astrid woke with a pounding headache, flying on the back of a Monstrous Nightmare in the arms of a man whose arms were much beefier than her husband's.

"Snotlout?" She questioned hoarsely. She painfully twisted her neck to look at the man behind her. Seeing the face of a scary looking, scared warrior she gasped and quickly turned back around.

That...was...not...Snotlout.

_Okay, okay, so it's not Snotlout. _She told herself. _Calm down. You've been in WAY worse situations than this. _She glanced around, trying to get a sense of direction. They were headed due east toward the rising sun, meaning that Berk was directly behind them. Good, now to get this behemoth of a jerk off her back. But then she heard it, Stoick crying, and she remembered. The battle, the dragons and Drago...Drago, where was he? Ahh, yes, there was that putrid bucket of oozing slime, riding in front with his horrible black cape flowing behind him. On a Nadder no less. _Well, _she had to admit, _At least he has good taste in that department._

Drago looked back and saw she was awake. Astrid glared her fiercest. He grinned slowly, evilly and fell back so that he was flying side by side with her and her captor. Astrid suppressed her anger and put on a show. Two could play this game and she planned on winning.

"You'd better take us back, Drago." She stated simply. "Remember what happened the last time you tried something like this?" He looked at her unamused. "I even warned you to make it fair! Don't mess with Hiccup, I said. You won't win, I said. But did you listen? No."

"Silence, Wench." She ignored him and continued.

"You just had to do it anyways. Take on the Dragon Master. Uh huh, just had to…"

"I said SILENCE!" He thundered. "I won't lose this time." He said with sickening confidence.

"Why? Because you've got us?" Astrid gestured to Valka and Stoick. "What exactly do you want, Drago? Revenge, wealth, control? Because Hiccup won't play your game, he will swoop down and take you out before you even get a chance to barter."

"Not when I've got a knife to your throat, he won't."

"I'm not afraid to die, but how about you, Drago? Hiccup was merciful to you last time. He spared you. He could have tracked you down and made sure you were dead. If you kill me, his wife, and subsequently his child, do you dare even think he will be quite as forgiving this time?"

"We shall see." Drago looked to his men. "Blindfold them."

As a black cloth was tied tightly to her brow, Astrid's head was sent to pounding even harder than before, but even that couldn't keep up with the angry pounding of her heart. She knew that if faced between her life and whatever "deal" Drago wanted to make, Hiccup wouldn't hesitate to choose his family. While this normally would have been a warm and fuzzy feeling, the whole thing settled bitterly in Astrid's stomach. Knowing that because of their family people could control and take advantage of Hiccup, to her, was beyond infuriating. She could only hope Hiccup had a plan.

After hours Astrid finally felt the dragon beneath her begin a slow descent before setting its claws into the hard earth. The man sitting behind her jumped off then pulled her down after. Tied hands and a blindfold did nothing to help her sense of balance, causing her to fall on her knees.

"Thanks for all your help." She muttered. Astrid was met with a response of silence before being lugged to her feet. "Give me my son." She demanded as she was led forward, hearing Stoick cry.

'You're not in a position to ask for any favors, Missy." Her captor warned.

"Those are cries of hunger, Drago!" Astrid yelled, not knowing who could hear. "If you want Hiccup's child, your bargaining tool, to live, then he stays with me." She was stopped abruptly, making her stumble. _Stupid blindfolds_. She inwardly brooded.

"Give her the child!" Drago barked. Astrid sighed with relief as her ropes were cut and she was handed the cradle board, her son crying uncontrollably. Drago yanked off her blindfold, then gave her a minute to let her eyes adjust. Her eyes widened at what lay before her. A huge circular cavern carved into the upper section of a mountain. It was lit by torches and had a smell to it. What was that? Oh, yes, the smell of dragon pins that had never been cleaned out. _Ehhh. _Astrid thought, trying not to retch. She continued evaluating, noting that all around her were prison cells built into the rock. None held humans, but were full of dragons.

"Welcome to your new home." Drago turned slowly, his hand showing off the space.

"You know if it wasn't for the stench," Astrid commented rocking the baby, trying to get him to sleep, "I might would be impressed."

"What manners," He replied sarcastically, "And I've even had an extra special place done up just for you." He gestured to a pair of cells where it was obvious that the space between bars had been made smaller for human occupants.

"Your attention to detail overwhelms me." Astrid responded dryly.

"Oh, that's not even the best part." Drago rumbled deeply, while pushing her closer to the door. "Wait till you see the decor." Astrid gasped in horror as she looked upon the skeletal remains of a Nightfury.

"No." She breathed.

"Yes, it's quite sad isn't it? We captured the beast years ago, but it refused to adapt to our, well, methods. Her skin made for a useful cloak though, didn't it?" Astrid glared at him through angry tears. "Now, are you going to go willingly or is this going to be a fight?" She lifted her chin and allowed him to escort her through the cell door knowing she had no choice but to cooperate. As the door slammed behind her she turned, waiting to see what they'd do with her mother-in-law.

Valka stood straight and proud, looking regal. Drago grandly bowed and gestured to Valka's own cell, right next to Astrid's and shut the door himself. He looked at her sternly.

"If you dare try to escape, Dragon Whisperer, don't think I'd hesitate to finish the both of them off." Valka only stared at him coldly until he turned on his heel and left.

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The clouds were hanging low on the mountains and it was starting to rain. Hiccup and Toothless landed in the middle of a dry creek bed, deep in the forest. Volcanic rock, all black and gray, littered the ground and a veil of mist hovered above creating an otherworldly landscape. The sound of his medal leg scraping against the rocks as Hiccup hopped down off Toothless resounded weakly in the woods.

"Let's make this quick, Bud." Hiccup said, blinking as a drop of rain landed on his nose. Toothless extended his wing to create a sort of shelter as Hiccup grabbed his map and spread it out on a large boulder. He'd been searching for hours and hadn't seen a thing. Hiccup had hoped Drago would flee in the opposite direction of the armada, but he was beginning to doubt that theory. Astrid's voice echoed in his ears, "Remember who you're dealing with." Hiccup remembered. His father's killer, a mad man, a man without mercy. Yep, that's who he was dealing with. How could he have let this happen? He'd thought they were safe, that Drago would leave them alone. Well, actually, he'd assumed Drago dead, but, hmf, that certainly wasn't the case. Hiccup's face was grave as he continued studying the map. Toothless nudged him gently with his snout. Hiccup swallowed hard, beadlets of salty tears mixing with the rain that ran down his cheeks. He wrapped his arms around Toothless's neck, sitting there for a moment just trying to get it together. Toothless moved away, staring at him intently, gesturing for Hiccup to get on. Hiccup tried to smile.

"Ahh, You're right, Bud. This, this isn't getting us anywhere." He sniffed and straightened his shoulders, standing up. "Ready?" He asked. Toothless pranced in excitement and they were off once more.

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Astrid sat down near the back of her cage, her knees up with Stoick laying asleep across her chest. She was deep in thought trying to discover a way out. There were dragons in nearly every cell around her, but they were wild and had been abused. Still, if she was able to escape…

The sound of many boots marching their way toward her interrupted Astrid's forming plans.

Drago stood directly in between her and Valka's cells, intending to address both of them.

"Bring out the elder." He barked to his men. Astrid scrambled to stand and waited for the meaning behind Drago's visit.

"Valka." He oozed, pushing her near to the bars of Astrid's cell. "There's a few things I'd like to know."

"And just what would that be?" Astrid answered for her angrily.

"Astrid, no." Valka spoke gently.

"That's enough! As I was saying," Drago continued. "You've got some valuable information that I'd like to have. Your knowledge of dragons is quite extensive as well as your knowledge of Berk. But the thing I think you might know best of all is your son. How he thinks, his strengths," Drago lowered his mouth to her ear, whispering deeply, "his weaknesses." Valka stared straight ahead, not blinking. Drago backed away and went on. "You will share this "knowledge" with me. Because if you don't, I will torture not only you, but your daughter-in-law and grandchild as well. Starting now." He gestured to Astrid, "She shall not receive food until you tell me everything I desire. Since that will not worry you until at least tomorrow, we'll move faster. Meaning that you, my dear, will be coming with me." Astrid shook her head desperately at Valka, sending a silent message. _Don't say a word. _Valka nodded, but Astrid could see her hands shaking in fear. _Stinking, rat eating, half troll..._

During Valka's absence Astrid paced the length of her cell determinedly, rocking Stoick until he was asleep. She noted the dragons in the surrounding area, but struggled to actually determine a way out of her cage. Once she did though, Astrid hoped to take at least one of the poor locked up creatures with her. And, if Hiccup would kindly show up before she had to do all the rescuing, hopefully she would be able to take them all. Astrid glanced ruefully at the bones of the Nightfury in the corner. A cold reminder of the man who held them in his clutches. Hiccup would be heartbroken when he saw this, after all those years of searching. Astrid shook her head discouraged, and continued pacing.

"Do you mind?" Her guard asked annoyed.

"Would you like to hear to this baby cry for an hour or two straight?" She answered in a voice that told him she was not in the mood to be bothered. "Because I can stop." He gave her a scared look and shook his head violently. "No?" Astrid paused, waiting. He put his hands up in surrender. "That's what I thought." She nodded satisfied.

Later she heard crying echoing through the cavern as it came closer. _What now? _She asked herself, putting the baby down and leaning her head through the bars trying to get a look. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Drago leading two men who held Valka up between them. She was sobbing, nearly uncontrollably as they put her back in her cell. Astrid clenched her fists as she watched Valka curl up into a ball and cry. She shook the door frame to her prison, angry.

"What did you do to her?" She yelled, her face contorted with rage.

"Only what I promised."

"Could you be a little more specific?" Astrid ground out.

"What's it to you?"

"Tell me, NOW!" She ordered. Drago rolled his eyes and yawned.

"Demanding, aren't we? Well, it's like this, your beloved in-law was given the choice to share some of her knowledge or watch a dragon be put out of its miserable existence, piece by piece."

"What? No." She backed away disgusted.

"She chose to sacrifice the dragon. Not that it matters. It was an older dragon anyway. Only would have been good another year or so. Still, not a great way to go…"

Astrid stepped forward, slamming her fist into one of the bars.

"You evil, conniving, large headed, slug sucking…"

"Oh calm down. She didn't break." He grinned, pausing for effect. "But I'm quite sure she will tomorrow."

Astrid turned her back on him, walking away, then spun around and boldly marched back. She stared him down, glared, and then spit directly in his face. He frowned deeply and left.

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Fishlegs sighed. He and Meatlug had been flying half the night in battle, then all day headed due east without so much as a hint of Drago.

"Sorry, Girl." He murmured, patting Meatlug affectionately. She looked at him, her large eyes sorrowful. "Okay, we'll stop for a minute." He looked out in the distance spotting a large island. "Let's stop there and get you some dinner." His own stomach rumbled at the mention of food. "And maybe some for me too." Fishlegs smiled at the idea of dragon roasted fish. "Mmmm." He dreamily closed his eyes, envisioning it all now. A picnic, just him and Meatlug, together basking in the sun. He heard several raindrops plink against his helmet. Well, maybe they'd be better off under a tree.

"Oh, but wait." He shook himself remembering they were on a mission. "Maybe just a bolder to go, Girl? He questioned. Meatlug glared at him and Fishlegs shrugged. "Sorry, but it's the best I can do." As they came down to a landing, Fishlegs surveyed the area, noting a large mountain near the ocean on one side. The rest seemed to be forest. Not a bad place to take a breather, all in all. But as he looked closer, Fishlegs was shocked to see a dragon and a rider fly out the side of the mountain. He quickly hid himself and Meatlug behind some rocks on the beach as he noticed this duo was not from Berk.

"Not good, not good." He squeaked, terrified. "Monstrous Nightmare. Stoker class, Shot limit, ten. Trainable, yes. Rider, large, strong, large, scary, did I say large? Because that's guy's huge!" He rattled, then paused taking a deep breath. "Meatlug, there is only one other group I know of that could have trained dragons and they are bad news, Meatlug, bad news." Fishlegs stated solemnly to his dragon. She looked at him unconcerned and started grazing on nearby boulders. Fishlegs, however, jumped into action and sent out a Terrible Terror back to Berk with a message.

"Must come." He said aloud as he wrote, after giving directions. "Bring help, will stay, hurry!" After he was finished and the mini dragon was well on its way, Fishlegs squared his shoulders and tried to face his fears. He had some scouting to do.

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"Aghhh! Hot! HOT! HOOOTTTTT! Snotlout screamed in pain as he ran in circles until finding a water trough to soak his inflamed behind in. "Ahhh." He sighed in relief. Hookfang stood there watching him as he continued soaking. "What are you looking at? This is YOUR fault!" Snotlout accused. Hookfang lumbered over and nuzzled him. "I love you too." Snotlout confessed. "Now get me out of here!" He yelled. Snotlout wrapped his arms around Hookfang's snout while he lifted him up out of the water. He growled as he bent over to wipe the water off his pants, or what was left of them. Some of the village children had snuck up on him and giggled as they peeked over the edge of the dragon arena. Snotlout's head jerked up in surprise when he heard them. Stumbling backwards he fell back into the trough, getting completely wet this time. This sent the children to the ground rolling, laughing so hard their sides hurt. Snotlout climbed out of the trough and glared at them. Their eyes widened and they ran to hide in a hurry. Meanwhile, Fishlegs's Terrible Terror had just flown in and was watching Snotlout and Hookfang intently.

"What do you want?" Snotlout asked, as he checked to see if it was a note bearing Terror.

It was. Snotlout looked at the message and tried to decipher its words. Yeah, reading wasn't his strong suite. "Small island, East…Blah, blah, blah. Okay! We're in business, Hookfang! It's about time we got in on the fun, huh, boy?" They took off and Snotlout could hear the children laughing again in the distance. He looked down to see what they were laughing at. "Aww, man!" He whined to Hookfang. "I have GOT to get me some fireproof pants."

It took Snotlout all the rest of the day to round up everyone but Fishlegs and get them back to Berk. By then it was dark and a horrible storm had moved in. While the dragons were capable of flying in the dark, the wind and driving rain would have been too much after all their exertion the last twenty four hours. Hiccup looked at the group all huddled in the great hall, wet as fish scales and exhausted from the day. All were shivering with cold, trying not to look tired and anxiously waiting for his orders.

"We'll head out at first light." He directed. An inaudible sigh of relief could be felt by each of the riders. Hiccup struggled then continued. "Go, go home, rest up and be ready for a fight. Drago's not going to take too kindly to us stealing his bait." Toothless nudged his hand and Hiccup patted him on the head softly. "Alright, well, that's it." He nodded and stood there waiting for them to all leave. He couldn't help but notice Eret hand Ruffnut his cloak before they went back out into the rain. Hiccup sighed and went to sit down at one of the large tables, laying his head on the hard wood surface. Gobber turned and saw this as he was about to leave, his face fell and he limped over and placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup looked up at him with eyes red from lack of sleep, his face a picture of weariness.

"It's going to be alright. Your Dad…"

"Dad would have never let this happen."

"Hiccup, you're not your Dad. Now don't take this the wrong way. What I mean to say is, your Father wasn't perfect and neither are you. Yes, he was a great chief, but he was just a man. What's happened here isn't your fault. It could have happened to anyone, including your Dad. We all thought the blasted man was dead. How were you to know he was alive?"

"I should have made sure."

"Hiccup, you've got to stop trying to live up to your Dad and just be who ya are. Your Dad was proud of the man you'd become. A man who'd changed Berk for the better with his dragons, who had new ideas and was a natural leader. He believed you to be a better man even than himself and told me so," He took a large bite out of a chicken leg and Toothless watched mesmerized as a drop of juice dribbled down his beard. "Several times." He continued. "You've got to stop living under his shadow, Hiccup. Now, before I was so rudely interrupted, I was about to say that your Father was feeling about the same as you after Val was carried off. Except he had no hope of finding her, he thought she was dead. Dead, Hiccup!" Gobber hit the table with his hook making a platter of meat fly up in the air. Toothless's eyes went wide with excitement at his good fortune as he leaped to catch the airborne food, his tongue reaching out in slow motion as he chopped down, licking his lips and grinning smugly. Gobber and Hiccup looked at him frozen in disbelief.

"Didn't see that one coming." Gobber said in reply to the display. Hiccup shrugged.

"Probably hungry after all that flying, huh, Bud?" Toothless gave him a hopeful look. "That's what I thought." As they stood up to go, Gobber put his arm around Hiccup.

"Listen, go home and sleep. Don't stay up half the night worrying yourself sick. Drago's not going to kill any of em as long as he can use them against you. So for now they're safe. Trust me. Now," Gobber exclaimed clapping Hiccup on the shoulder, "Off to bed with you." Hiccup gave him a small, tired grin and stepped out into the storm with Toothless by his side.

"Ahh, those two." Gobber exclaimed, watching Toothless put his wing up to shield Hiccup from some of the deluge as they disappeared into the darkness.

Opening the door to home, Stormfly rushed to greet him, swishing her tail and shaking all over in excitement. Hiccup rubbed her down affectionately, but she kept looking towards the door, waiting and watching. Hiccup sighed and gave her one last pat before working on feeding the pair.

"Sooo, guys, it's just us tonight. How about some extra fish and chicken? Sound good?" Stormfly ignored him, laying down facing the doorway. Toothless however was waiting expectantly. "Yeah, I know YOU'RE hungry. Come on, here ya go." He said giving Toothless a barrel full. He gave Stormfly the same amount, but she only took a few bites before returning to her post, waiting for her mistress. He shook his head defeated and went to bed thinking he would never fall asleep, even after Gobber's "talk". But before a minute was even up he was out cold.

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Needless to say, Fishlegs was less than thrilled about having to camp out for the night by himself in the dark...with no fire. He knew it would give him and Meatlug away if he lit one, but this was Fishlegs after all.

"I hate the dark. I hate the dark." He muttered over and over to himself as he huddled against Meatlug. The wind picked up and blew his hair across his forehead. He shivered and got out some dry bread from his pack to nibble on.

"Of all nights for it to storm it just had to be this one." He complained to Meatlug. Lightning flashed, lighting the night sky and he cuddled closer. Fishlegs knew not to expect the others until after light, they wouldn't chance it in this weather, but he sure wished they were here with him now. He wrapped himself up in some animal furs and laid down next to Meatlug, who barfed up a small amount of coals to keep them both snug. Before long Fishlegs was toasty warm.

"Thanks girl." He murmured before falling fast asleep.

Then the rain hit.

He jerked awake and glared at the sky. "Really?" He asked before pulling the furs up over his head in irritation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks everyone for the reviews and for following this story. It's my first so I super excited that you like it!**

**Thanks Jo (Guest) for the heads up on the spacing. The format on here is different from what I'm used to so I didn't catch the, shall we say, "hiccup". :)**

The next morning Astrid woke to hunger pains. At least they'd given her water, _Guess they aren't ready to kill me just yet._ She grimly thought. Oh well, she'd gone hungry before, it wasn't like she couldn't handle an empty stomach. Hiccup would be here sooner or later. She snuggled little Stoick closer, watching him sleep. He'd been up most of the night crying, much to the night guard's dismay, but he was now dreaming peacefully and she quite enjoyed the view. Astrid's good thoughts were interrupted by the sound of boots once more making their way across the cold stone floor. _And here we go again. _She thought bitterly as she rolled over and stood up.

"Good morning my pets!" Drago called out, his arms over his head walking in a tiny circle. Astrid noticed that most of the dragons, upon hearing his voice, crept as far back into their cages as they could go. _So much for gaining their trust, _she sighed. This could prove more of a challenge than she'd thought. _Great. _Two men came and unlocked both Valka and Astrid's cells, but from the evil grin on Drago's face, Astrid was pretty sure for once she'd much rather stay under lock and key. More power to him. At least she'd get a chance to look around and maybe, just maybe find a way to escape.

_So much for that idea_. Astrid huffed in frustration as she was yet again blindfolded. After about fifteen minutes of walking in what seemed like circles they finally stopped and the blindfolds were taken off. Astrid took a look around to see what seemed to be an empty room cut out from stone with only a few torches on the wall and, oh, a wooden pair of stocks. _Not good._

All of a sudden a Viking reached out for Stoick.

"No!" Astrid screamed. "Give him back!" She ordered as she clawed at the man's arms and kicked him in the shins.

"Shortly." Drago replied. "But first…" He snapped his fingers. Two guards grabbed her arms and dragged her to the stocks as she kicked at their legs and bit into their wrists.

"Let me go!" She protested as Valka was held back by Drago.

Astrid's face flushed bright red in anger as the wood piece slammed down, holding her in place.

"Now Valka, share with me your secrets or this," He held up a whip, "Will cut into her back. Your choice." Astrid's face blanched when he held out the torture tool, but she quickly hid her fear.

"Hey Drago, remember what I said last time? So much as a scratch and Hiccup…"

"I don't want to hear about Hiccup!" Drago raged. "I'm sick of hearing that sniveling brat's name. That tiny whelp will never find you here!"

"Wanna bet?" He stalked over and lifted the whip, bringing it down violently. Astrid winced and tried not to cry out. She wanted to bring out the fact that Hiccup had tracking dragons, an army full of dragons, an alpha dragon and that Drago didn't stand a chance, but she held her tongue.

"Now." Drago said composing himself and bringing his attention back to Valka. "Every five strikes I will ask you again whether or not you're willing to share all your lovely little secrets. If your answer remains "no" we will continue with the lashings. Once we get up to twenty five, we will stop and resume again tomorrow. I am a patient man, but I highly doubt she will last as long as I'm willing to wait. Shall we begin?"

Valka turned away and Astrid braced herself. The first strike hit hard and she clenched her teeth ready for the next. She was used to pain, she could survive this. If she could have a baby, Astrid figured she could handle just about anything. Again and again the whip bit into her back until they had reached five.

"Valka?" Drago asked.

Valka turned to look at Astrid who shook her head defiantly, her chin purposely down so Valka wouldn't see the tears stinging her eyes. Valka turned away again, tears openly streaming down her cheeks as she heard leather once again meet flesh. Astrid cried out loudly at number nine and Valka turned sharply to see.

"Don't do it, Valka!" Astrid yelled as number ten came down. "Don't think about me, don't think about this, think,"

They paused as they waited for Valka's decision. "Think about Hiccup." Astrid finished.

"This can all end now." Drago whispered lowly in Valka's ear. "Tell me what you know."

She glanced at Astrid, sweat and tears flooding her face as she gasped for breath and with regret in her voice Valka gave Drago the answer that cut her heart in two.

"No."

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Hiccup woke to the sound of rain lightly drumming the roof. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and slowly put on his armor.

"Well Toothless, ya ready?" Toothless bounded to the door, obviously in a hurry to get going.

As Hiccup stepped out into the gray light of dawn he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. _Okay_, _here we go. _He thought to himself. He was strangely excited, terrified, hopeful and nervous all at the same time. Hiccup could already feel the adrenaline pumping forcefully through his veins. The others were waiting for him in the great hall and he grinned to see their excitement. Hiccup faced his soldiers, well his friends really, but today his warriors and he felt peace.

They could do this, together. They'd done it before, they could do it again. Drago was at his weakest. His armada was crippled and he could only have a handful of dragons left, if that. Hiccup would bring Stormfly and Cloudjumper, both now fully recovered. They'd be good back up. Hopefully, he'd have Valka and Astrid fighting by his side. Truth of the matter was, he preferred it that way. They always had each other's back and the group as a whole fought better when everyone was present. Granted they would have the baby, but he highly doubted that would that would slow Astrid down. Carrying a hundred pound sheep never had. Hiccup smiled to himself, _Yep, things would be okay_. But several thoughts nagged him in the back of his mind and Hiccup knew he needed to consider some of the darker problems he might be faced with. He had suspicions that Drago would use his family as bate, ransom, trade or even worse, just plain good old fashioned revenge. The possibilities were endless. What if Drago had discovered a new species of dragons, or another Bewilderbeast to do his bidding? _Yeah, that would definitely be a problem. _Hiccup conceded. He came out of his meditative trance and focused again on his friends.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do."

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Astrid felt as though her back was literally on fire and the pain was excruciating. When Valka denied Drago's request at ten, she smiled through her tears and steeled herself for the next round. As the whip lashed into her back yet again she tried desperately not to lose consciousness, instead trying to focus on anything but the pain. Astrid quickly filed through her memories and found what she was looking for.

Crack, the whip came down and she and Hiccup were flying through the clouds for the first time on Toothless. Pillars of pink and gold surrounding her at sunset.

Crack, Hiccup becoming chief and drawing her to him for a kiss. That had been a first.

Crack, this wasn't working, she could hear herself screaming.

Crack, Valka was telling them to stop, she would tell.

"No." Astrid whispered hoarsely. "Only ten left." Valka quieted instantly and sobbed as they raised the whip again, but Astrid was out of it before the instrument of pain even came down.

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Fishlegs yawned and rolled over not wanting to wake up just yet. He shivered, and was surprised to not feel Meatlug's extra-large back against his own.

_Where was she anyways? _He questioned as he opened his eyes, forcing them to focus. They jerked wide open when he noticed he wasn't in the great outdoors anymore, but in a prison cell!

_I must still be asleep, yeah, that's it. _He thought. _I'll just pinch myself, oh, that'll hurt, and…_

"Ouch!" He exclaimed. "Nope, not dreaming." A guard came over and laughed at him.

"Sleeping like a baby, you were. Easiest capture I ever did see."

"If you don't mind my asking, uh, sir…" Fishlegs choked out, his voice trembling with fear. "Where exactly am I?"

"In Drago's lair of course. And if he doesn't decide to kill you, you'd better make yourself at home, cause you ain't ever leavin."

"Where's Meatlug?" Fishlegs asked, finding his courage as he always did when it came to his dragon.

"What's a Meatlug?" The man returned suspiciously.

"My dragon. Was she captured with me?"

"Ahh, yes. I forgot, you people name the beasts."

"You don't?"

"Why name a weapon? They're more machine than animal. Blood thirsty creatures!" The man spat. Fishlegs face turned red, but he let the comment slide. He had bigger issues.

"Excuse me, um, sir, but you didn't answer my question. Is my dragon here?"

"Yeah, over in that cage across the way."

"Thank you."

"Hmff, now shut up. I'm not supposed to converse with the prisoners."

Fishlegs nodded and the guard went on his not so merry way. Fishlegs already had a plan of escape figured out and was about to act on it when Drago and his men walked into the area followed by Valka with the baby on her back. His breath caught when he saw that between Valka and a large Viking man Astrid was being half carried, half dragged back to her cell, which incidentally, was right next to his. Valka's eyes swollen from crying widened at the sight of him. She frowned, but remained quiet until after she'd helped lay Astrid down on her stomach. Wondering why, Fishlegs stood up and walked over. The sight made him instantly want to run and gag, but he stood firm. His face did turn a ghastly shade of green, but hey, he was doing good not to be fainting dead away. He grimaced as he leaned closer. Astrid's back was covered in lash marks, the back section of her shirt had been shredded and bits and pieces had borrowed themselves into her skin. _Easy escape? Probably not going to happen. _He thought as he looked away over at Valka, who demanded she stay in Astrid's cell if Drago wanted her to live. He nodded and left, leaving her to demand water, bandages, a knife and several herbs from the guards. They quickly provided all but the herbs and Valka got down to business.

"How did you get here?" She asked.

"I'm not really sure, actually. I went to sleep and well, I kind of woke up here."

"Does Hiccup know you're here? Is he coming?" She whispered urgently, glancing at the lone guard who had wandered to the other side of the room. He followed her gaze and lowered his voice.

"I sent him a message yesterday, but there was a storm, so, not too sure how that worked out."

"Hmmm." She thought for a minute. "Alright, well, regardless, we've got a lot of work to do." She passed him the screaming baby through the cell slats. Fishlegs turned around to give Valka privacy while she tended to Astrid and began rocking and singing to Stoick, trying to calm him.

"This is Meatlug's favorite." He explained to the child as he started an original ballad about dragons and flowers. Meanwhile, Valka removed Astrid's armor and cut away her shirt, gently extracting the bits of fabric that had been driven into her flesh. Then after washing her back as well as she could, she rolled yards of linen strips around Astrid's torso before taking one of Hiccup's long, loose moss green tunics they had packed in case of fleeing and tugging it slowly over her head. Valka returned the knife to the guard and asked quietly for more clean water.

Astrid moaned and started to wake up.

"Shhh." Valka soothed. "Try not to move."

"Valka?"

"Yes, now don't move. It'll only make it worse."

Astrid, as usual, didn't listen and sat up. Her face blanched and she quickly turned and threw up on the stone floor before collapsing. She winced and squeezed her eyes in pain. The room was spinning and she was completely okay with passing out again. Fishlegs stopped his rocking and turned to see what was going on. Astrid chose that moment to force her eyes open and she instantly spotted him.

"Fishlegs!" She sputtered. "What are you doing here?" Valka started washing the blood out of Astrid's hair from the head wound that had been left unattended to and Fishlegs looked at Astrid with extreme hesitation.

"If you must know…"

"Fishlegs, get on with it!"

"Okay, okay, you see, I was out scouting yesterday and they got me while I was...Well, while I was...asleep." He squeaked. Astrid brushed Valka's hand away making her stop.

"You fell ASLEEP!"

"Well, it was nighttime and we'd been up for hours. Meatlug was tired!" He tried to explain.

"Never mind." She closed her eyes frustrated. "Does Hiccup know where we are?"

"There was a storm and I wasn't sure if you were here or not, but," Fishlegs whispered, "He should be on his way to check it out." Astrid nodded slowly, not entirely satisfied, but she knew the gang would show up eventually. Valka covered her with a cloak and she closed her eyes again before saying with more certainty than she felt,

"He'll come."


	5. Chapter 5

The twins flew right out to the entrance of Drago's mountain lair and hovered.

"Why do WE have to be the distraction?" Tuffnut protested.

"Cause Hiccup said we're good at it and Eret son of Eret, the love of my life, the man of my dreams, my everything! She paused to take a breath, "Agreed."

"Would you stop saying that! You're weirding me out! And hey, I guess we are kind of good at it. I mean what's more distracting than this?" He made a face that could scare the milk out of a yak.

"Ugh." Ruffnut groaned. "Let's just do this and get back to the others. I don't want to miss out on any of the fun stuff."

"Puh-lease, what could be more fun than THIS! Barf, Belch, do your thing!"

Ready for action, Barf let out a stream of gas and the two flew around the mountain making a ring all the way around the top. Then Belch let loose a spark and the twins watched with glee as the whole thing lit up.

"Now THAT was epic!" Ruffnut said in awe.

"Huh, not bad." Tuffnut shrugged. "But, let's go join the "real" party and see if Hiccup will let us do some REAL damage. Like, maybe make the entire mountain explode!" Ruffnut responded to his suggestion with a wild smile and the two raced off to find the others.

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Meanwhile, from inside, Fishlegs watched as all the dragons, except his, were taken out of their cages and armed for battle.

"Uhh, guys?" Fishlegs whispered to his fellow captives. Astrid opened one eye in acknowledgment. "I think Hiccup's here." Astrid's other eye flew open and she was wide awake. Fishlegs smiled in anticipation and motioned for Valka to come closer.

"Take the baby, I think I've got a way to get us out of here."

"Oh and just how do you plan on managing that?" She asked, receiving little Stoick through the bars.

"I'm thinking hand signals." She nodded in agreement. "When all these guys leave we'll make a run for it." He continued.

"Good. We'll be ready." Soon only two guards were left. Fishlegs waved over at Meatlug trying to get her attention. That didn't work. So wincing, he risked a short whistle. One of the guards looked at him suspiciously so he quickly continued whistling and turned his halting signal into a short tune.

"Keep it quiet!" The man yelled. But Fishlegs wasn't concerned about the man's rebuke, he had Meatlug's full attention now. She lazily flew to the edge of her cage waiting. Fishlegs put his two fists together shaping them into the looks of a mouth. Then he opened them and wiggled his fingers so that it looked like spewing fire. The Gronckle quickly responded by regurgitating a large fire molten boulder as well as a steady stream of Gronckle fire, melting the iron prison bars. As she flew sedately over to Fishlegs's cell the guards went berserk.

"Watch out, Girl!" He warned as one of the guards attacked her. "Meatlug, sit!" She immediately responded and promptly squished the Viking beneath her. "Good girl!" Fishlegs praised. "Now, fire!" He ordered as the second guard approached. The man raised his shield and deflected the blast, but before Meatlug could fire again he turned and ran down the long stone hallway farther into the recesses of the mountain. She started to follow, but Fishlegs called her back.  
>"What a good girl!" He crooned "Now let Daddy out." Fishlegs made the hand signal again and before a minute was up, as gingerly as he could, he climbed through the still hot hole in the medal. Meatlug rushed at him and they reunited in a big bear hug.<p>

"Umm, Fishlegs? Are you gonna get us out of here or what?" Astrid asked drawing him back to reality. Valka had the baby on her back and as soon as they got the cell door open, Fishlegs would carry out Astrid. He still wasn't sure how they would all fit on Meatlug, but hopefully Hiccup would be there shortly.

"Oh, yeah. Here." Fishlegs was about to have Meatlug start spewing fire again when they heard the sound of doom (Lots of boot wearing Vikings.) making their way down the corridor. They all froze. Valka and Astrid looked at Fishlegs panicked.

"Give him the baby." Astrid commanded. Valka quickly passed him through the bars into Fishlegs arms. Astrid sat up, looked like she was about to pass out then pulled herself together. "Fishlegs, listen to me, and listen good, we don't have time. Go back to Berk and take Stoick with you. He'll be one less person for Drago to use against Hiccup. He'll be safe. Now go!" He shook his head, tears in his eyes.

"No, Astrid, I can't leave you two."

"Fishlegs, stop. I'm sorry, but…" The men were getting closer.

"Hurry!" Valka hissed, giving him a small push. Fishlegs hurried, but struggled to get on Meatlug, his arms full of baby. Then, finally, he was on. As Meatlug took off through the dragon sized hole in the mountain, Fishlegs looked back to see Astrid nod and give him a reassuring, but sad smile. Fishlegs set his shoulders. He had a mission. Find Hiccup and take this little guy home. He could do that, right?

Drago marched in just as Fishlegs took off with the squalling baby. He growled and screamed,

"AFTER HIM!" Several Vikings scrambled to obey, but all the dragons were already out on the battlefield. Astrid smiled triumphantly to herself on the floor where Drago couldn't see. Fishlegs would protect her baby with his life. They would be safe, and if she didn't make it out of here Hiccup could survive. Not that she was about go anywhere other than home if she had anything to say about it. Even laying helpless on the ground, Astrid dared Drago to try and kill her. Oh, he thought he had her down, but she still had plenty of fight left in her. All she needed was the opportunity and Drago would find he'd sorely underestimated her, and her family, again. She was a Hofferson by birth and a Haddock by marriage, who did he think he was to mess with her?

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Hiccup stayed hidden with Stormfly and Cloudjumper while the crew kept Drago occupied. Thankfully, Drago'd left the armada and most of his men on a different island.

"How's that for luck, huh, Toothless?" He asked. Toothless warbled a response and Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, almost too lucky. Drago's probably got a trick or two up his sleeve we'll need to be ready for." Hiccup supposed, if this wasn't a trap, and it shouldn't be, he'd scouted it out himself, that this place was Drago's secret get away for his most private operations.

"Well, it's not so secret anymore. Come on, Bud, time to give Drago a run for his money."

Fishlegs suddenly flew past him in a blur. "Whoa! What? Fishlegs?" He'd been wondering where his friend had been. "That's it. Hey, let's go blast those guys off Eret's back then we'll go see just where Fishlegs is going." Toothless took off towards Eret, rolling over, belly up, flying backwards before shooting up directly in front of an extra-large Gronckle and his rider. "Now!" Hiccup yelled. Toothless sent out a plasma blast on the dragon, which sent it spinning out of control to the ground, but not so much that the rider was hurt. Well, very much anyways.

"Thanks!" Eret called. Hiccup nodded and raced to catch up with Fishlegs.

"What exactly are you doing Fishlegs?" He asked, talking to himself, as it looked like Fishlegs was on his way home to Berk. "Hey! Fishlegs!" He hollered. "The battle's this way! Where are you going?" Hiccup pulled up alongside him. His joking expression changed to a mixed sense of sadness and surprise when he saw that Stoick was cuddled up, half asleep in Fishlegs' large arms.

"Where are they?" He asked urgently.

"Astrid made me, Hiccup. Drago was coming and we didn't have time. I'm sorry. They know you're here, so does Drago. You need to hurry."

"Where are they?" He repeated.

"When I left they were right at the entrance, but Drago's most likely moved them. It's incredible in there, Hiccup. I'm not sure, but I think they used Whispering Deaths to carve it all out."

"Okay, so not great, but I'll find them. Fishlegs, take Stoick back to the village." He smiled, "And, don't worry, you'll do fine. Just, just keep him safe, okay?"

"Yes sir!" He saluted, smiling broadly. Hiccup grinned and took off. Fishlegs winced.

"Aw, man!" He said, smacking himself in the head. He'd forgotten to warn Hiccup of the destruction Drago had already reaped on his family. "Hiccup, wait!" He yelled, but Hiccup was already long gone. He sighed. "Oh well, I guess it's just you and me Little Guy." Meatlug growled. "Oh and you too. Sorry, Girl." She grunted in acceptance and the trio started the long flight back home. Fishlegs sniffed the air and his face crumbled in despair. "You wouldn't know how to change a diaper would you, Meatlug?" There was no reply. "Ugh, great."

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Eret saw Hiccup fly in fast, shooting directly into the mouth of the mountain, Stormfly and Cloudjumper sweeping in after him.

"That was some flying." He said amazed. Gobber overheard, not being a wingspan away.

"I've got these Crazies, why don'tcha go give em a hand?" Eret grinned and took off. As fast as Hiccup had been flying, Eret was seriously surprised he hadn't missed the cave opening or at least grazed it. It was big, but at super speed, well, things got a whole lot smaller. Hiccup and Toothless were both expert flyers, unfortunately, he wasn't, so Eret took it slow when entering Drago's lair. He landed and closed his eyes for a moment to adjust to the dark. When they had, he looked around in surprise. A huge circular room surrounded him, dragon cells on every curve of the wall, and it looked like, he noted, two human as well. A lone streak of light shone through from the top of the mountain, and there, right across from him looked to be a long, sloping corridor the descended further into the depths.

"That's it boy." Eret said nudging Skullcrusher ahead. "Time to go return some favors."

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As soon as Fishlegs had made his escape, Drago commanded his men to take Astrid and Valka to what he described as,

"The place where Hiccup will never find you."

"Wasn't that supposed to be here?" Astrid asked sarcastically. He glared at her and she smiled up at him insolently.

"Move them out." He charged. Valka tried to help Astrid up, but much to her mortification, Astrid was unable to carry herself, her knees giving out from the pain that encompassed her slender frame. She saw Drago leer and strained to make her legs hold. That lasted for about half a second before they gave out again. Drago signaled to one of his men who looked like an overgrown walrus who hadn't bathed in days. Astrid shuddered, partially in pain, partially in dread of this guy even touching her with his dirty hands. She glowered at him as he roughly picked her up and swung her over his shoulder. She cried out as her back relit on fire, the skin stretching as she bent over the man's collar bone. Drago walked around the Viking and tilted her chin up. She ignored the pain and supported herself against her "Stinking, dirty Walrus's" back, resting her chin on her hand, smiling sweetly at Drago in defiance. He jerked his finger away, but not before she bit it soundly. He yelped. Astrid truly smiled now and gave a small laugh.

"Just a taste of what is to come, Drago." She lowered her voice to make it dark and threatening. "A very small taste." He took a step closer and slapped her hard across the face, making her slam down into her carrier's back. Valka gasped, dismayed. A single tear ran down Astrid's cheek and she hung there still a minute before looking back up at him, her eyes deathly cold.

"Hiccup is going to kill you for that."

"I'm not worried about your Hiccup. That little display, my dear, is what you should be worried about. Because that was just a taste, yes, a very small taste of what the rest of your life will be like. However short it may be." He replied, Drago's voice as cold as her eyes. "Move out!" He ordered again before he led the way down into the recesses of the peak. Astrid decided after about a minute that she was beginning to feel like she'd just drank half a pint of Yak Nog. With every step the guy took she bounced against his back, flopping like a dying fish out of water. His back, which, taking a sniff, Astrid also decided, he need to wash more often. In fact he might could give Tuffnut a run for his money on growing out the longest back hair. Seriously, it was disgusting. Between the man smell, horrific pain, constant bouncing, no food for two days, hanging upside down and a now pounding headache, Astrid was struggling just to breath. A gurgling noise came out the man's rear, followed by a vile stench.

"Ugh!" Astrid gagged and would have thrown up, but she was so light headed she opted for passing out instead. _At least the smell will be gone. _She thought before sinking back down into unconscious bliss.

Valka saw her go limp and her anger boiled deep. She was ready for action, but was more than outnumbered. Then of course there was Drago. A guard brushed past her walking ahead, hitting her shoulder and shoving her to the side. That was the final straw. She glanced around discreetly to make sure no one was watching her too closely. Hiccup was going to need all the help he could get when he got there, and she was determined to be ready. Excited at the thought, Valka quietly began fidgeting with her bonds.

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Hiccup flew as fast as he could without injuring Toothless and tried to mentally prepare himself for war. He figured Drago would do one of two things. Kill Astrid and his Mom as soon he knew Hiccup could see or try and make a trade. Hiccup was pretty sure it'd be the second, and he was pretty sure he knew what Drago wanted. After all, Toothless was the alpha dragon now. If Drago had him under his control, he'd have all the dragons on Berk under his warped idea of ruling. "That has to be it, Bud." Toothless was too busy flying to acknowledge him.

Honestly though, Hiccup had been studying possible reasons behind Drago's madness (other than him being mad, of course) and he guessed Drago had been expecting a tradeoff, a ransom. He just hadn't counted on Hiccup finding his mountain. That would explain why when Gobber and the twins had caught up to the armada Drago and his guard were nowhere to be found. Hiccup guessed they had thought of more than one benefit to kidnapping his family and had decided to take full advantage of it before making the trade. Astrid and his Mom were both experts on two things, dragons and Berk. Invaluable information to Drago. Getting that from them would be an opportunity he wouldn't likely pass up.

"Well, that would explain what Drago's sitting around here for." Toothless glared at him and accidentally bumped into the side of the tunnel. "Okay, okay. Point taken. I'll be quiet. You just fly." Right then a net dropped from above, wrapping him and Toothless in a wire roped cocoon.

"Agh. Toothless!" Hiccup complained as the dragon tried to wiggle free. "Hey, whoa, Bud, hang on. You're squishing me! Just plasma blast it." The medal heated and gave way and they were soon out of the trap. Hiccup was leaping back on Toothless when he quickly ducked, narrowly missing a stream of dragon fire. The burst ended and he raised back up ready to fight. Toothless nudged him and Hiccup turned to face their attacker.

"I was hoping I'd catch up with you." Eret called.

"I'd say you more than caught up." Hiccup smiled and pointed to his singed hair.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Wasn't sure who I was firing at it's so dark in here."

"Oh come on, Eret! Toothless is so bright and colorful how could you miss him? Can't you see how well his wings stand out in the dark?" He teased sarcastically. Toothless hit him on the back of the head with his tail and Hiccup laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, let's just get going, huh?" Eret said rolling his eyes and smiling. "Oh, by the way, you left two dragons back in the big room."

"Meant to do that. Unless they take them out with those darts, if Drago tries to escape in that direction, Stormfly and Cloudjumper can hold him off." Eret nodded. "You ready for this?" Hiccup asked. Eret gave him a look.

"I'm always ready."

"Then let's go show Drago what we're made of!"

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Meanwhile, Gobber, the twins and Snotlout were making Drago's men work hard to stay alive. The twins snickered as they snuck up on one guy from beneath. Tuffnut jumped up on Belch's neck and reached to unbuckle the man's saddle. Then they backed up and shot a small flame at the Viking, making him turn in his seat to face them. As he did though, his saddle slid off with him in it. Both twins cackled in glee as they watched him make a huge splash in the ocean below. Nearby, Gobber had his hands full, trying to evade yet another Viking.

"Alright, that's it." He quickly turned Grump around and fired. He laughed as the man ducked and fled, retreating. Snotlout flew up beside him and fired a small shot at the man's rear, making him howl. "Well, that'll put his skivvies in a knot." Gobber commented dryly.

"Eh, it'll do him some good." Snotlout replied wisely. Gobber's mouth hung open and he looked over at Snotlout surprised.

"Since when did you get all mature?"

"What? Me? No." Snotlout chuckled. "I just think all dragon riders should have their pants lit on fire at least once. Especially, if I'm the one doing it!" He laughed obnoxiously and flew off yelling, "Snotlout, Snotlout, oui, oui, oui!"

"So much for being mature. Well, one can only hope, right, Grumpy?" Grump looked back at him with a look that said, "Not going to happen." Gobber nodded and watched as Snotlout flew in circles mindlessly and shook his head. "Oui...oui...oui." He muttered hopelessly.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hurry up!" Drago shouted as the group neared the end of the tunnel and entered a smaller version of the large room they'd just vacated. A correlation of dragon pens and stalls all in a circle with an open place in the mountain for them to fly in and out of. Only difference? All the cells were occupied. Drago cut her ropes away and hauled Valka over to his Deadly Nadder.

"You'll be riding with me. And don't you dare try anything!" His spit flung in her face as he talked, but Valka didn't notice. For just a moment she'd thought she'd heard something. Not wanting to get her hopes up, but not wanting to give Hiccup away if he was coming, she kept her focus on Drago, hoping he hadn't noticed her lapse of complete undivided attention. He turned and yelled at his beast of burden. The Nadder shied away, hugging the back wall in terror.

"If you'll excuse me…" Valka said, crouching low and cooing gently to the animal, before reaching up and slowly lifting her hand to touch the dragon's snout. The beast relaxed and she would have used the opportunity to escape, but she saw just beyond Drago, a guard with a knife to Astrid's throat. Her eyes were closed and she was limp, still unconscious, but a small trickle of blood was oozing from where his blade had barely grazed her skin. Valka grudgingly handed Drago the lead rope, accepting that he'd won that round.

He sneered and swung her up over the saddle. The Nadder shifted beneath her and Valka could feel its leg muscles tightening in anticipation as it walked out of its stall. Then the sound came that she'd been waiting for, Toothless swooping in low, letting out a fierce roar. The guard who'd had Astrid, dropped her on the floor next to his dragon and came running. Now was her chance. Drago, distracted by the newcomers, turned to look and Valka made her move. She raised up in the saddle, made a fist and slammed it hard into Drago's ear. He knelt down in pain and she jumped of the Nadder, using his bended back as a step stool. He grunted and she smiled, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Hiccup!" She yelled. He jumped down off of Toothless and ignited his sword, scaring one of the men silly. Hiccup watched as he went screaming down the hall, before smiling broadly and confidently tossing Valka her staff.

Drago was up, but now she was ready. She spun wildly around behind him tearing off his dragon skin cloak and dove down sweeping his legs out from under him. He growled and jumped up, lunging at her, but was jerked back by his hair.

"I'll take this from here, if you don't mind." Eret said decidedly. "I've been waiting to show this freak a thing or two." Valka nodded, pleased to see the youth.

"Just what do you plan on teaching me? I taught you everything you know." Drago snorted.

"Not quite!" Eret replied, presenting his sword, ready for a duel. Valka left them to it and scrambled out of the stall moving on to other battles.

In the meantime, Astrid had woke up to find herself dumped on the floor inside of a dragon cell, alone and not tied up. She opened her eyes and looked around, hearing the cadence of battle. There was Hiccup, dancing around the Viking guy with the carpet of back hair, with his flaming sword weaving patterns in the semi dark of the cavern.

"It's about time." She whispered to herself. "Now, time to kick some, ohh, pain." Astrid groaned as she crawled out of the pen. A man's hand, who Valka was fighting, slipped and his dagger went flying, skittering to a stop right in front of Astrid.

"Whoops! Don'tcha just hate it when that happens?" She asked him. His face froze and he looked at her startled. Valka took advantage of the situation and hit him hard in the jaw with the end of her staff. "Sorry!" Astrid mockingly apologized before taking the knife. It wasn't an axe, but it would do the trick. She panted as she made her way across the floor, stopping to rest against a large support beam to survey the combat before her. Valka was busy wielding her staff against two guards, while Toothless kept the wild dragons and their riders off Hiccup's back. Hiccup meanwhile, had several Vikings coming at him at once. Skullcrusher gave them a warning blast before they reached him, burning a few of their britches. THAT made them rethink their strategy, at least for the moment. Most of the guards, Astrid noticed however, were actually more focused on the fight going on between Drago and Eret than they were on fighting the rest of the crew. She had to admit, it _was_ more entertaining. The fight between their master and former comrade she figured, for them, was too good to miss. Hiccup's components were back, this time making sure Skullcrusher was occupied before starting in on Hiccup. Drago skillfully maneuvered Eret until he was fighting back to back with Hiccup in the center of the room.

"Trade ya!" Hiccup yelled above the noise.

"Sounds good." Eret replied. "Ready? One...Two...THREE!" They switched and Drago held up his hand halting the fight. In the quick pause Astrid saw Hiccup searching for her. His eyes scanning the room, then stopping as he found her. Her breath caught as their eyes met. His incredibly green eyes probing into her soul, pulling at the depths of her heart as they always had. Even when they were kids, it was his eyes that had haunted her, made her smile and infuriated her all at the same time. Maybe that's why she's fallen so hard for him. He was that one person that could throw her for an absolute loop. As she looked at him now though, Astrid could see his concern and worry for her, mixed with plain frustration and determination. _Are you okay? _He asked with his eyes. She shrugged and nodded.

"I've waited a long time for this." Drago announced. Hiccup turned his attention away from Astrid and back to Drago.

"Oh really? That's funny, I kind of thought you were dead so, yeah, didn't really think too much about you at all. But after you took off with my family, I made up for lost time." Drago smiled and took a strong swing, which Hiccup gracefully side stepped. Angered, Drago let out a warrior scream and launched, running with all his might towards Hiccup. Everyone took that as permission to start fighting again and soon everyone was busy except Astrid. She figured she wasn't going to be much help in the combat department so she left her post and started crawling over near the cave entrance where Drago's Deadly Nadder was waiting. As she inched her way forward all the racket drifted away and she only heard the sounds of the Nadder. Astrid reached out her hand, silently begging him to give her a chance. She took a good look at him and noticed that he wasn't black at all, but had been painted in effort to make him camouflaged at night. _A cheap imitation of a Night Fury. _She speculated. Scooting closer Astrid starting singing lowly to the skittish animal, while keeping her hand out. As he drew nearer she looked away, and smiled when she felt his hot breath on her fingertips.

"Hey there, boy." She cooed. He sniffed her over and rubbed his head against her hair. She continued humming lowly to him and was about to attempt getting up when Drago pushed Hiccup into the poor creature's side. The Nadder screamed in terror and panicked, running back into its stall and hiding.

"Really?" Astrid yelled over the noise sarcastically. "Can't you two go fight somewhere else? I'm kind of busy over here!" Drago was taken slightly aback by her bold command in the heat of battle, but Hiccup was more than used to his wife's banter and used Drago's pause to his advantage, striking hard and gaining ground.

"Yes, Dear!" He shouted back, smiling as he continued with the fight.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks again everyone for the reviews!**

**Transformers 0- Chapter 6 is probably my favorite too! Glad you enjoyed the Hicstrid action. Those two, oh my!**

Outside, the rest of the group had chased everyone off and had just come back together to regroup.

"Well, that was fun. I'll be going home now." Snotlout announced, yawning.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Gobber returned. "We've still got to find Hiccup and the others."

"Hey, speaking of Hiccup, me and Ruff were thinking." Tuffnut started.

"Never a good sign." Gobber interrupted. The twins gave him a look and he shrugged.

"Anyways, like I was saying" Tuffnut continued.

"Can we blow up the mountain? Pretty, pretty, PRETTY please?" Ruffnut burst.

Gobber's mouth fell open and he shook his head.

"Why am I not used to this by now?" He asked no one in particular.

"Well can we?" The twins asked together.

"Ah, that would be a definite, absolutely...NOT!"

"Aw, man!" They groaned in disappointment.

"Well, then can we?"

"No."

"But, Gobber!"

"Nope, not gonna happen. However, what we will do is…"

"I know, I know!" Snotlout cut in, jumping up and down in his seat excitedly. They all looked at him astonished.

"Tell us, just what exactly is it we're going to do, Snotlout?" Gobber asked.

"Actually, I have no idea. But, I'm guessing it may have something to do with that dragon fire coming out the other side of the mountain."

"Where there's smoke, there's usually Hiccup." Gobber commented dryly.

"Don't you mean fire?" Tuffnut asked.

"Just forget I ever said that. Now, let's go. When we get there everyone just do what you do best."

"Like this?" Ruffnut asked, before punching her brother in the nose.

"Never mind." Gobber said, sighing as the gang flew off to their next battle.

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Inside the mountain the fighting had begun in earnest. No more playing around, they were all tired and now winning was a matter of life and death.

"Give it up, Drago! You're never gonna win this." Hiccup pleaded.

"Never!" He replied angrily. Hiccup felt his heart grew heavy. This was not how he'd wanted things to end. How had Drago come to this? Sure, he'd lost a limb, but so had he. From the beginning Hiccup had tried to make peace, but he'd come to the unfortunate conclusion that it wasn't that Drago couldn't change, it was simply that he didn't want to and apparently never would. So here they were, fighting. Hiccup saw his mom being hauled away by some of the guards and was briefly distracted. In that time Drago struck, grazing his arm and slicing through Hiccup's armor making what would be a nasty scar in the future. Hiccup looked down at his wound and looked back up to see Drago, running away from him and going straight to Astrid, weaving his fingers roughly in her hair and pulling her up by the roots.

"Owww! Let go of me!" She screeched.

"Drago." Hiccup breathed. "Let her go." He said reaching out a hand and stepping slowly closer. Drago wrenched the dagger out of Astrid's hand and pressed it hard to her neck.

"One more step and she dies." Drago warned. Hiccup stopped dead in his tracks, freezing. "Now, drop your weapon." Hiccup did so immediately, his sword clattering to the ground.

"No, Hiccup." Astrid ground out as she struggled uselessly against her captor.

"What do you want, Drago?"

"I think you know."

"Well, just for my personal benefit, would you mind clarifying?" Drago responded by looking directly at Toothless, who was preoccupied with several Vikings stabbing at him. They had strict orders from Drago not to kill him, but to cage him up and have him ready to go. So far that plan just wasn't really working. Hiccup looked back to Drago.

"No."

"Then she dies." There was a moment of silence and then Hiccup smiled at Astrid, before declaring,

"Oh, I don't think so!" Drago and Astrid looked at him like he was crazy, just before Gobber sailed in on Grump, the dragon's tail hitting Drago on the back of the head, making him fall flat on his face. The rest glided in behind him and went to take on whoever was left.

Seeing their master down, Drago's warriors leaped into action, rushing at Hiccup.

"Oh come on now, really?" Hiccup asked before bringing up his sword ready to go again. But right as they were about to attack they came to a screeching halt, and meekly backed away.

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"Hiccup!" Astrid screamed. Hiccup turned and narrowly missed a fatal blow from Drago.

"Oh, you're up." He said sidestepping another blow. Drago yelled and Hiccup could see his spit flying through the air. "And apparently, you got up on the wrong side of the bed. Have you ever thought of...?"

"Enough! I'm going to end this." Hiccup sighed and realized this was it. Now was his moment. The two men came together their weapons locked in place, but Hiccup could only hold against Drago's sheer volume for a second and was quickly shoved to the ground. He rolled over and Drago again missed him by a hair of an inch.

"Nothing will ever be enough, until you're dead!" Drago roared, the two engaging once again. It was now or never and Hiccup attacked with all the energy he had left, backing Drago nearer and nearer to the edge of the cave entrance. Toothless turned from his fight and watched as Drago went for the kill, raising a sword to finish Hiccup off. Hiccup saw what was coming and knew he wouldn't have time to block the attack. He looked at Toothless and the world seemed slow for a moment as Toothless saw instead of Hiccup being slaughtered, Astrid leaping up and stabbing Drago deeply in the back right as he was bringing the sword down. The sword dropped from his hand and clattered to the floor as Astrid yanked the blood dripping dagger from his back before falling hard to the ground and laying still. Very still. Drago stumbled for a minute, looking from Astrid to Hiccup in disbelief. Skullcrusher was just flying out and brushed up against Drago's shoulder, making him trip and fall off the edge, his eyes closing in death as he plummeted to the ground below. Hiccup crawled to the edge in horror, not yet believing and understanding what had just happened. Shaking he turned back and surveyed the continuing fight. Toothless gave one last growl to his attackers, leaving them to Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and pranced over to Hiccup.

"Hey, Bud," Toothless went in for a hug and Hiccup was happy to oblige. "I'm glad to see you too." He backed away and the two friends stared at each other.

"We won." Hiccup whispered in wonder. Astrid rolled over and smiled at him faintly. He knelt down next to her and took her hands in his, warming them with his breath.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself. It's about time you showed up. Where have you been?"

"You're hands are freezing." He commented. "Uh, where have I been? Well, let me think, just about everywhere. You're kind of hard to find, Astrid."

"Oh, I do my best. I mean hiding out in the middle of the ocean, on a tiny island, inside a mountain, in a dungeon. Just thought I'd make it a challenge."

"Wow, all that for me? I'm honored. You, you really outdid yourself. So," He smiled at her, "Are you ready to go home M'lady?"

"Thought you'd never ask, but honestly, Hiccup, I feel like dead yak."

"Figured that. Come on you." He said, lifting her into his arms. They turned to see what was going on, as the fray was still not over. Valka had just hit a guy in the stomach with her staff and sent him flying into a cage. She quickly marched over and slammed the door shut locking it in place. She paused, noticing Hiccup and Astrid and came over.

"He's gone?" She asked. Hiccup nodded and they were all silent, watching the battle coming to a close. Gobber slugged one last man with his iron ball hand attachment and the remaining soldiers surrendered, laying down their weapons. It was done.

"Ruff, Tuff, take these men and lock them in the cages." Hiccup ordered as he walked over to his prisoners.

"On it!" They both replied. He shifted Astrid's weight and continued. "Eret, take my Mom and go collect Stormfly and Cloudjumper. Get them home."

"Yes, sir!"

"You brought Stormfly?" Astrid asked incredulously. He shrugged.

"Oh, and Snotlout?"

"Yeah?"

"Might want to fix that hole in your pants." The young Viking turned bright red and glared at Hiccup. "Use this." Hiccup kicked Drago's dragon cloak towards Snotlout with his peg leg.

""Huh, thanks. That might actually work." Hiccup just grinned at him.

The twins finished their task and they with Snotlout took off, leaving only Gobber. Hiccup turned to face the prisoners.

"My friends will return shortly with food and water. I'll be back in three days, if in that time you will swear your allegiance to Berk and promise never again will you harm one of my people or our dragons, you will be set free and be returned to your families. You have my word. However, if you refuse this incredibly generous offer, you will be forced to live out the rest of your days on this island, required to share quarters with the dragon of your choice, all day every day, _until_ you swear allegiance to Berk. So," He paused. "That's my offer." Astrid snickered and buried her head in his shirt so they wouldn't hear her laughing.

"What?" He whispered as they turned to leave.

"Did you see the look on their faces?" She breathed. "Dragon torture?" She giggled then laughed out loud. "What are they going to do? Lick them to death?"

"Shhh. They'll hear. And, hey, that's torture enough. You know that stuff never, and I mean _never _washes out." He grinned and soon they were laughing harder than before.

After many hours of flying, a whisper of the moon shone through the clouds, the stars sailing out fully gowned in their silver dust. Astrid had been sleeping and woke peacefully to the sounds of Hiccup's steady heartbeat and Toothless's wings cutting through the night sky.

"We're almost home." Hiccup informed her, sensing she was awake. She yawned and nodded into his chest.

"Good." Astrid straightened and groaned, her back burning.

"Is it bad?"

"I'll survive." She mumbled, sinking back into his arms.

"You know, last time you said that…"

"Shut up." He gave her a look. "Well, I did, didn't I?"

"Just barely." He shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"Well, it wasn't my fault Ruffnut decided to learn how to lasso yaks." Hiccup snorted, trying not to laugh out loud.

"What? Just because she got Stormfly's head confused with a yak is not my fault and it's definitely NOT my fault she missed and got my neck instead!"

"Yeah, yeah okay. Now shhh." He said putting his hand over her mouth. Astrid glared at him and continued talking, her voice muffled. Hiccup laughed at her and removed his hand.

"Look." He said softly. She shut up and looked to where his finger pointed. There was Berk, quiet and peaceful in the darkness.

"Home." She whispered. Toothless looked back at the two of them, both mesmerized, and was more than pleased that they still got pleasure from this view and that he was the one to share it with them. He glided down slowly letting them enjoy the moment. He could see the other riders ahead of them, just landing. He smiled his dragon way and stayed hovered for a minute, reveling in his contentment.

"Uh, Toothless?" Hiccup interrupted. Toothless shook himself and flapped his wings once. "Are you ready, Bud?" Toothless glanced back at his riders with his tongue flapping in the breeze, excited. "Okay, then." Hiccup chucked, "Let's go home."


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, everyone, last chapter. I'll possibly be working on another story soon, but it'll take awhile for me to get it written and finished, let alone up on the web. Thanks all for reading and for all your reviews. ~Dancing on Dragon Wings**

**"May your dance be joyous,**

** may your feet be light, **

**may the sun always shine**

** and your burn bright!" ~Celtic Blessing**

Valka and Gothi cut the wrappings off Astrid's back while Hiccup stood nearby, holding Stoick against his chest.

"Hey, it looks like you're getting the hang of the whole Dad thing." Astrid teased as Valka continued on. Hiccup smiled and looked down at his son who was awake and peacefully sucking his thumb.

"You know, I think maybe I am." He turned to Stoick. "We spent a lot of time together while Mommy was sleeping yesterday, didn't we little guy?" Stoick spit up on his shirt. "Ugh." Astrid laughed and Hiccup gave her a highly annoyed look. "I guess I'll take that as a yes, then."

"Sooooo...No more freaking out about being a Dad then? I mean, other than on occasion when he's a teenager?"

"Ha ha, very funny! But, I'm not making any promises. You know, I'm actually pretty cool with it now, I mean, it doesn't get much better than _this."_ He gestured to the baby with his free hand.

"Now, this is going to hurt." Valka cut in.

"I'm ready." Astrid said clutching the pillow. Hiccup laid Stoick down and knelt by the bed, offering his hand. "I've got it, Hiccup." She protested.

"Just take the hand." She rolled her eyes and reluctantly slid her hand in his. Valka, as gently as she could started ripping the strips of cloth from Astrid's back. The bandages had already started fusing to her skin and it hurt like fire to peel them away. Astrid set her gaze on Hiccup and the two stared hard at each other. When at last it was finished Hiccup's hand felt like pulverized meat. He gave her an "I told you so." look, but she just shrugged and squeezed hard again as Gothi poured some icky looking green slime, an herbal poultice mixed with Nightfury saliva, all over and spread it around. Hiccup stood up and took his first look at the damage. Astrid watched as several emotions paraded across his face. Anger, sorrow, concern, pain, and blame. And, knowing Hiccup he was probably blaming himself. Astrid tried to make light of the situation.

"You know what I always say, It's only fun if you get a scar out of it." She lamely joked. Hiccup turned away and stood up against the fireplace, clearly upset. "Hiccup, come back here! Hiccup!" Astrid demanded, frustrated. He turned and she saw his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Hiccup." She whispered, her face melting in compassion as she held out her hand. He returned and they put their heads together. Her bangs brushing against his skin as their foreheads met. "This wasn't your fault." She assured lowly.

"I should, I should have been there, I should have known..."

"Are you kidding me? How could you have predicted Drago's demented, nightmarish plans? And you were more than a little busy. It's not like you could just drop defending Berk and check on us every five seconds. You can't be everywhere at once. So don't blame yourself. This one's all on Drago's head as far as I'm concerned. I mean it's only logical, don't you think?" He took a deep breath and planted his face down on the mattress.

"Uh, this is the part where you're supposed to say "Yes, M'lady", "Anything you say", "What would I ever do without you?" She flicked him on the head. "Right?" Astrid smiled when she heard muffled laughing. He brought up his head, shaking it in surrender.

"Alright, you win."

"Don't I always?"

"I am _not_ going to answer that."

"Smart move." She approved. Valka chuckled quietly at that last statement and Astrid smiled smugly as Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"I don't even want to go there." He commented. She shook her head in affirmation that he DID NOT want to go there.

So, Dragon Boy, are you going to take Toothless and Stormfly for a spin? You know, the last thing we want on our hands are stable sour dragons."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh huh, worst of it's over."

"I'll be back in a bit then. But, no more running off for you, Young Lady, you hear me?"

Astrid managed a small smile before sweeping him away with her hand.

"Get outta here!" She retorted as Hiccup swung out the door, Toothless scampering off behind him. Outside he hopped up on Toothless and went to find Gobber.

He had some unfinished business to attend to.

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Hiccup could already see men scrambling on all the decks of Drago's armada preparing themselves for attack, as he and Gobber flew in. He had come to discuss a treaty with the new captain of Drago's fleet. Gobber had come along as back up and as a witness to the transaction Hiccup hoped would take place.

"You ready, Bud?" He asked. Toothless gave him a mischievous look and let out a loud roar before circling the slew of boats, terrifying many. "Well, that was helpful...Not. Toothless, we're trying to make friends. Not scare the living daylights out of these guys!" Toothless made a guttural noise that sounded like the human equivalent to a laugh. "Ha ha, very funny, now let's land on..." Hiccup looked around and saw a large, well they were all large, but a larger and scarier than the rest Viking who stood out and looked like he was in charge, "that boat." He pointed and Toothless glided down. At least twenty spears were pointed at them the minute Toothless placed his paws on deck. He looked back at Hiccup cautiously. "It's okay, Bud. Just relax. I've got this."

Hiccup slid Drago's bullhook out of it's casing and jumped down, holding it out in front as an offering. The guy who Hiccup'd guessed was the leader of the pack, stalked over to meet him, towering at least two feet over his head. Hiccup took a deep breath and began, what he'd started calling "The Spiel".

"I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, Chief of Berk." He brushed one of the guard's pointed swords away as he walked closer. "This is the bullhook of Drago Bloodvist, which I give to you freely." Hiccup stopped in front of the man and held out the weapon, but the man did not take it. His eyes only narrowed and Hiccup swallowed hard.

"I am Igor Strongwall Calder the Fifth. I am now chief of all these men." He gestured to the array of ships. "You are master of all dragons. A fierce opponent. I want peace between us."

"Peace?" Hiccup said excited. "Really? I mean, wow, that's great! Here." He chucked the bullhook to one of the soldiers standing near, before reaching into his flight suit's arm compartment and bringing out a large piece of paper. "A treaty?" He asked happily. The man's face relaxed and Hiccup went on. "You don't attack us, we don't attack you. Open trade between us both. How, how does that sound?" Igor nodded and Hiccup wrote out all the particulars, signed it and gave it back to Igor, who looked it over carefully.

"This is good." He agreed. Then he took the pen from Hiccup and signed it convitedly.

"Also, one more thing." Hiccup started respectfully. Igor gave him his full attention. "About the dragons."

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"Did you get them?" Fishlegs asked excitedly.

"Been wondering where you guys were." Hiccup said purposely ignoring Fishlegs to draw out the suspense. "What if that guy had pulled a knife on me?"

"Ehh, we were watching." Snotlout replied, unconcerned.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs whined.

"Okay, okay, Fishlegs, calm down."

"I can't! I have GOT to know!" Hiccup smiled, creating a moment of uncertainty before bursting,

"I got them!"

"YES! Whoo hoo!" He spun around in circles with Meatlug and rushed ahead continuing in his joyous shouting.

"Wait, what'd he get?" Tuffnut asked.

"The dragons, Stupid." Ruffnut reinformed him for the tenth time.

"Did you really, Hiccup? I never thought _I'd_ see the day." Eret inquired.

"Yep, I give Igor the prisoners and we get to keep all the rest of Drago's dragons."

"That's great!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited." Fishlegs spun past them, still shouting. Eret and Hiccup shared a look before bursting out laughing. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were in a full on fight with Ruffnut's foot on Tuff's neck while she tried to pull his hair out.

"Would someone PLEASE marry my sister?" Tuffnut screamed. Ruffnut pulled harder. "Snotlout? Eret? Anyone, I give my blessing...Owww!"

"Eret? Wait." She piped, stopping. "I can marry Eret son of Eret? Yippee!"

"And this is where I bow out." Eret said urging Grump to sneak away from the group.

"See ya!" Hiccup waved, laughing. It was time to go home.

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The day the trade was made was long remembered on Berk. Hiccup stood proudly with his arm wrapped around his wife. Astrid, now healed and whole, held little Stoick against her chest as she watched the ships sail in. Valka stood beside Hiccup and she smiled approvingly as he nodded to Eret and Snotlout who marched the prisoners from their cells. Hiccup broke away from his family with Toothless walking regally beside him and together they strode to meet Igor. Igor offered his hand and the two great chiefs shook on the bargain again before the exchange was made. Then Igor signaled and the last of Drago Bloodvist's dragons flew forward into their new home as Hiccup's prisoners walked back into their old.

It was done.

The crowd cheered and great feasting and dancing took place until the wee hours of the night. Their enemy was defeated, no more to hold a place of fear in their hearts. It was a time of celebration for both humans and well..._Dragons_.

~The End~


End file.
